Data Security and Compliance in Travel Software: How Travel Booster Protects Your Business and Your Travelers

November 10, 2026

Why security belongs at the heart of your travel ERP

Every booking your team creates is a small file of personal information. A name, a phone number, a passport number, a date of birth, a frequent flyer number, an itinerary that shows exactly where a traveler will be and when. Multiply that by thousands of travelers a year, and your booking system becomes one of the most valuable data stores in your business.

That value makes it a target. Travel companies sit at the meeting point of identity data, payment flows, and dozens of suppliers, and attackers know it. At the same time, regulators in Europe, the UK, the US and beyond expect travel businesses to know where their customers’ data lives, who can reach it, and how it is protected.

For most travel agencies and tour operators, the answer to those questions sits in one place: the ERP. If your platform is secure, certified and transparent about how it handles data, a large part of your compliance work is already done. If it is not, no internal policy can fully close the gap.

In this article, we explain the standards and documents that matter most (GDPR, the DPA, the privacy policy, ISO certifications and penetration testing) and show how Travel Booster applies to each one.

What data does a travel business hold?

Before choosing controls, it helps to map what is at stake. A typical travel agency, tour operator or DMC running on an ERP handles:

Traveler identity data: names, contact details, dates of birth, addresses and passport numbers.
Travel data: itineraries, flight segments, hotel stays, transfers, special requests and frequent flyer numbers.
Financial data: invoices, receipts, payment status, refunds and supplier payments.
Commercial data: contracts, allotments, net rates, markups and commissions.

In Travel Booster, all of this comes together in a single docket (the travel file), connected to GDS interfaces, hotel and car hire sources, payment gateways and B2B, B2C and supplier channels. That centralization is a major operational advantage. It also means the platform must protect every layer: the user interface, the business engine, the database and every integration in between.

GDPR: the baseline for any travel business with European travelers

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to any business that processes personal data of people in the EU, wherever that business is based. For travel companies, that covers a huge share of the market: European travelers booking with you, European suppliers you work with, and European partners selling your products. The UK applies its own version, the UK GDPR, with near-identical rules.

GDPR rests on a few core principles that every travel business should recognize:

Lawful basis: you need a valid reason, such as performing a booking contract or the traveler’s consent, to process their data.
Data minimization: collect only what the trip requires.
Transparency: tell travelers what you collect and why.
Data subject rights: travelers can ask to access, correct, delete or transfer their data, and can object to direct marketing.
Security: protect data with technical and organizational measures appropriate to the risk.

The penalties for serious breaches can reach €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. The reputational cost of a leak can be even greater.

GDPR also defines two roles. The controller decides why and how data is processed. The processor handles data on the controller’s behalf. When you use a SaaS ERP, you are usually the controller of your travelers’ data and your software vendor is the processor. That relationship must be formalized in writing, which brings us to the DPA.

Travel Booster follows GDPR and other applicable privacy standards. Galor, the company behind Travel Booster, also has an appointed EU representative based in Spain for data protection questions.

The DPA: your contract for how data is handled

A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is the legal document that defines how a processor handles personal data for a controller. Article 28 of GDPR requires one. For a travel business, the DPA is the clearest way to see what your software vendor commits to, beyond marketing claims.

Travel Booster’s DPA is published openly and forms part of every customer agreement. Its key commitments include:

Clear roles. The customer is the controller and Galor is the processor. Galor processes traveler data only on the customer’s documented instructions.
Confidentiality. Everyone authorized to process personal data is bound by a duty of confidentiality.
Defined security measures. A dedicated annex lists the technical and organizational controls in place, including need-to-know access, staff training and logged access attempts.
Transparent sub-processors. The DPA names every sub-processor: AWS for cloud infrastructure, All Cloud Platform for AWS support, and Zendesk for customer support. Customers are notified of new sub-processors and have 14 days to object.
Breach cooperation. If an incident affects customer data, Galor notifies the customer and supports the investigation and any required notification to authorities.
Data return and deletion. When the agreement ends, the customer can request a full copy of its data and deletion of all other copies, completed within 60 days.
Audit rights. Customers can request information that demonstrates compliance, and in some cases appoint an auditor.
International transfers. Where data moves to countries without an adequacy decision, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK Addendum) apply.

The DPA also covers California privacy law (CCPA/CPRA): Galor commits never to sell customer personal data. For agencies serving US travelers, that is an important addition.

The privacy policy: transparency travelers can read

Where the DPA governs the relationship between you and your vendor, the privacy policy speaks to everyone whose data is collected. A good one explains, in plain language, what is collected, why, on what legal basis, who it is shared with, how long it is kept and how people can exercise their rights.

Travel Booster’s privacy policy does exactly that. It separates the two roles Galor plays: controller for website visitors and customer contacts, and processor for the traveler data agencies manage on the platform. It lists the rights available to individuals in the EU and EEA, includes a dedicated section for California residents, and gives a single contact address for privacy requests.

The platform also gives customers the tools to act on those rights. Agencies can update, edit and delete data at their discretion, so a traveler’s access or erasure request does not become a manual project.

ISO 27001 and ISO 27017: independent proof of security

Policies describe intentions. Certifications prove that those intentions are put into practice and checked by an independent auditor. In information security, two international standards matter most for a cloud travel platform.

ISO/IEC 27001 is the global standard for an Information Security Management System (ISMS). To be certified, a company must identify its information security risks, put controls in place to manage them, and show that it reviews and improves those controls continuously. Certification is renewed through regular external audits, so it cannot be earned once and forgotten.

ISO/IEC 27017 builds on 27001 with controls specific to cloud services. It covers areas such as the split of responsibilities between the cloud provider and its customers, separation between customer environments, and the security of virtual infrastructure. For a SaaS ERP, where every customer works in the cloud, it is the more relevant of the two.

Travel Booster is certified under both ISO 27001 and ISO 27017. In practice, this is reflected in controls such as:

Access to personal data limited to staff who need it, with a record of who is authorized.
Automatic logging of every access attempt to systems holding personal data (user, time, component and outcome), with logs kept for at least 24 months.
A maintained inventory of every system component, monitored for weaknesses.
Security risk surveys at least every 18 months.
Industry-standard encryption for any data sent over public networks.
Ongoing training for the team in data privacy, information security and compliance.

The platform is hosted on AWS, the world’s most widely adopted cloud platform, which brings its own physical and infrastructure security.

Annual penetration testing: thinking like an attacker

Certifications confirm that the right processes exist. A penetration test checks whether the system holds up when someone tries to break in.

In a penetration test, qualified security specialists simulate real-world attacks on the platform. They look for weaknesses such as vulnerable code, misconfigured services, weak authentication, or ways to reach data a user should not see. Every finding is documented, rated by severity and fixed.

Travel Booster commissions an independent third-party security firm to run a penetration test on the platform every year. Using an external firm matters: outside testers bring fresh eyes and the latest attack techniques, and they have no stake in the result. Repeating the test annually matters too, because new features, integrations and threats appear all the time.

For customers, this means the security of the system that holds their travelers’ data is challenged from the outside on a regular schedule, and not assumed.

Why security standards matter when choosing a travel ERP

Switching to a SaaS ERP moves your most sensitive data onto someone else’s infrastructure. That can be far safer than local servers and spreadsheets, but only if the vendor meets the right standards. Strong security and compliance in your ERP give you:

Lower risk. Fewer weak points for attackers, and faster detection when something looks wrong.
Easier compliance. Your own GDPR obligations are much simpler to meet when your processor already documents its controls, sub-processors and breach procedures.
Customer trust. Travelers, corporate clients and B2B partners increasingly ask how their data is protected. A certified platform gives you a clear answer.
Better deals. Large corporate accounts, airlines and public tenders often require ISO certification and a signed DPA from every vendor in the chain.
Business continuity. Professional hosting, backup and recovery procedures keep operations running when incidents happen.

When you evaluate a travel ERP, ask the vendor these questions:

Do you have a published DPA that names your sub-processors?
Are you ISO 27001 certified? Are you ISO 27017 certified for cloud services?
Does an independent firm run penetration tests on the platform, and how often?
Where is our data hosted, and how are international transfers covered?
How quickly will you notify us of a security incident?
Can we export and delete our data when the contract ends?
Do your tools let us answer travelers’ access and deletion requests?

Travel Booster has a clear, documented answer to each one.

Security you don’t have to think about

Data security and regulatory compliance are no longer optional extras for travel businesses. They are part of the service your travelers expect and the contracts your partners sign. The good news is that you don’t have to build it all yourself.

With Travel Booster, you get a cloud ERP hosted on AWS, certified under ISO 27001 and ISO 27017, aligned with GDPR, backed by a transparent DPA and privacy policy, and tested every year by an independent penetration testing firm. Your team can focus on creating and selling great trips, while the platform keeps your travelers’ data protected at every step.

Want to see how Travel Booster protects your business? Book a demo with our team, or read our DPA and privacy policy for the full details.

FAQs

Does GDPR apply to a travel agency outside the EU?

Yes, if you process personal data of people in the EU. That includes European travelers who book with you, even if your business is based in Israel, the US or elsewhere. Working with a GDPR-aligned ERP and a signed DPA makes those obligations much easier to meet.

What is the difference between a DPA and a privacy policy?

A DPA is a contract between your business and your software vendor. It sets out how the vendor processes your travelers’ data on your behalf. A privacy policy is a public notice that tells individuals what data is collected, why, and what rights they have. You need both, and so does your vendor.

What is the difference between ISO 27001 and ISO 27017?

ISO 27001 certifies that a company runs a complete information security management system, with risks identified, controlled and reviewed. ISO 27017 adds controls designed for cloud services, such as separating customer environments and defining security responsibilities between provider and customer. A cloud travel ERP should ideally hold both, as Travel Booster does.

How often should a travel software platform be penetration tested?

At least once a year, and after major changes to the platform. Travel Booster commissions an independent third-party firm to test the platform every year, so new features and integrations are checked against current attack techniques.